O'Connor makes most of first year at MSC

(Editor's note: This contains updated information from the original story.)

Brighton O’Connor went from helping her high school team reach the state tournament to helping her college team reach the national tournament.

This past spring, O’Connor and the Murray State College softball team qualified for the National Junior College Division II World Series in Spartanburg, S.C. They went 4-2 at the national tournament, losing to the same team twice to be eliminated late in the tournament.

It was definitely a great experience for the then-freshman.

“It was really neat,” O’Connor said. “Of course, it was expected. They had gone both years before and we were actually told at the beginning of the season that we weren’t going to be good by a lot of people. They had lost every single starter from last year’s team and we had so many freshmen this year. So, I think it’s even better when we got there knowing that we did it. We were able to prove people wrong and we worked hard to get there.”

Murray State College finished 60-7 on the year.

O’Connor played in 35 games and started eight. She batted .323 with five home runs, 15 runs, 20 hits and four doubles.

She pinch-hit in one game of the World Series, going 0-for-1 in a win over St. Louis Community College.

Both the MSC losses came to Kirkwood Community College out of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In fact, four of the six losses on the season came against Kirkwood.

The national tournament included playing at least two games a day.

“We started out as the No. 3 seed, so we knew we had the opportunity to play some teams we knew we could beat,” O’Connor said. “But we ended up getting in the loser’s bracket. One of the teams we played was Johnson County. They had beat us earlier in the season on a walk-off. We knew what it would take to beat them, but we ended up in a rain delay that didn’t end until 1:30 in the morning.”

With the game not complete, they had to come back the next morning and finish the game. They played the early game on just a couple hours of sleep. That would be on top of the other two games they would end up playing that day.

“We got like three or four hours of sleep going into day six and we were able to beat them,” O’Connor said. “Our next game was against the defending champsions, so it was awesome to beat them. And next game was against the team that had already given us three of our losses. They beat us by one, but it was just so neat to be there. We were exhausted, but the energy we created those three games was incredible. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that day.”

They would finish in third place.

The game itself is much tougher than in high school.

“I knew it was going to be different,” O’Connor said. “I knew going in there would be other really good girls. A lot of us come from smaller schools. So, on your high school team, you’re usually one of the best, if not the best on your team. And we were all coming together.”

The dynamic worked in the team’s favor, however.

“It was really incredible to see how all of these really incredible athletes would somehow find a team dynamic that would work with us all coming from being the team leader and things like that,” O’Connor said. “I would say it was difficult to fall into but I enjoy being led and we had some really good sophomores that helped guide us all year.

Now that she will be a sophomore, O’Connor, who was a straight 'A' student as a freshman, says she expects to take a leadership role whether it is officially given to her or if it comes naturally.

“I’d love to slot into a leadership role,” O’Connor said. “It seems like anything I do I somehow find myself there whether I’m trying or not. I like leading and I like leading in the right direction. And of course, leading with God, that’s huge to me.”

She was happy to contribute anyway she could her freshman year, with things such as the five home runs.

“It’s a great feeling,” O’Connor said. “It’s a super awesome to know that you’re able to contribute to your team in that way and just add to the game, but we’ve put a lot of emphasis on weight and things like that. We practice hard and we get those results in the game.”

She also is giving back to the local community. She hosts a Stephens County Softball Camp. This year’s camps had a total of 93 campers from all over the area, not just Comanche.

“It’s something I prayed a lot about,” O’Connor said. “I noticed who is winning the state championships in small schools are mostly in southeast Oklahoma. I’ve always been interested in what they were doing different. I want southwest Oklahoma to start winning state championships and I know that starts at a young age. You’re making the game fun and making these girls want to get better. We had girls from six or seven different schools. Like the Bible says, iron sharpens iron. That’s what we’re wanting to do. If we can make everybody better, we’re going to be better.”